Furniture USA: Plans in the works for Austin store; Company taking advantage of a great opportunity

Published 7:55 am Wednesday, January 3, 2018

Plans for the brand to be housed in the former Target building by Furniture Mart USA is still being studied — but Chief Operating Officer Troy Eichmann said Tuesday that one thing was for sure: Coming to Austin made all sorts of sense.

“It is a regional opportunity for us; it’s not just about Austin, but the area Austin attracts as well,” he said.

Its location on Interstate 90 is a huge plus, he said.

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“And people are choosing to live and raise families in Austin,” he added. “Austin is a great town.”

Furniture Mart USA purchased the 90,000-square foot building in December. Target closed its operation at the Austin Town Center strip mall in 2015.

Whatever the brand, the operation will be a furniture store. Furniture Mart USA operates Ashley HomeStore, Furniture Mart or Unclaimed Freight Furniture.

The company often pairs its stores with another anchor brand. For instance, in Mason City, Iowa, the company recently opened an Ashley HomeStore in a former Kmart building, which also houses a Harbor Freight operation.

While Eichmann said he could not comment on the Austin store’s operation at this point — the winter months, he said, are used as planning months by the organization — work at the store will begin in the warm months.

“We are reinventing the assets  to bring new life to the building, and to increase retail opportunities” for the area, Eichmann said.

The company, based in Sioux Falls, S. D., operates 43 stores in the Midwest, has been named among the Top 100 furniture stores in the U.S.

The arrival of Furniture Mart USA completes a new chapter for the Austin Town Center. All of the other occupant property was purchased by Regency Properties in December.